Some are born great, but some must have greatness thrust upon them.

Campaign Handout

Six months ago, a tentative truce was declared… But both nations continue to muster armies in anticipation of the renewal of war.

Meanwhile, the people of Hash-I’sah are threatening rebellion against their Andorian ‘protectors’... Even the merchant houses of Pelira are arming their militias, fearing that they will soon become involved.

Still, there is hope that this peace will last. A summit will be hosted by Andoria soon, to discuss the terms of peace and usher in a new era for Ashara.

Can you bring light to a doomed continent? Or will merely stand by as the darkness consumes all?

History

Andoria

Andoria is best known for its diversity of races; while the region is named for the mostly-human kingdom of Andoria, many other races maintain sovereign settlements within the Andorian borders. Most Andorians worship The Court of Six (see: Religions of Ashara), but almost any religion can be found being practiced there.

Vecora

Vecora is a young nation, founded about thirty years ago when the DevaAdara staged a coup in the kingdom of Azoria, giving power to Delina Carandis. Delina renamed the nation, instituted a state religion, and set to work strengthening her people for the trials of the new age. Vecora is home to most of Ashara’s Dragonborn, and dragons themselves are revered as saints of sorts. Almost all Vecorans worship Vecorim, for whom the nation was named. While there are, of course, exceptions, many Vecorans see their authoritative government as a blessing, as it protects them from all other powers.

Hash-I’sah

Hash-I’sah is a desert region south of Andoria. Though civilized by the DevaAmar A’zim, the people of Hash-I’sah are still largely nomadic. They do revere Amar A’zim as a god, however. Hash-I’sah is a relatively peaceful nation, tending to avoid entering direct conflicts. This has allowed the larger nations to push Hash-I’sah around quite a bit, however, and the people of the deserts are finally beginning to consider rising up and making a stand for themselves.

Pelira

Pelira is a largely neutral region to the east of Andoria. Ruled by a collection of merchant houses, Pelira’s markets are legendary. It is said that, given enough time, you can find whatever you need in Pelira, no matter how rare. Pelira has not maintained a standing army for over twenty years, since its only feud was with Azoria, and the new Vecora had no interest in warring with the merchant houses it would eventually enter trade with. Mercenary companies are extremely common in Pelira, however; at least one can be found in every city at any given time.

About half of all Pelirans worship The Light, a relatively recent deity. Followers of the Light acknowledge it as the one true religion, but believe that it encompasses all other faiths, even if those faiths do not acknowledge it.

The War

The war, as it is simply known, began in the year 757, when a Vecoran army landed on the shores of Hash-I’sah. Andoria quickly mustered its armies and landed on the opposite shore; King Andor XII declared Andoria ‘Protector of Hash-I’sah’. Hash-I’sah, being a fairly peaceful nation,
didn’t have much of a say in this, and simply hunkered down and hoped for the best as the two armies met in the deserts.

After three years of little progress in the war, Vecora made a strong push, at one point holding most of Hash-I’sah as well as a foothold on the southern coast of Andoria. Vecoran raiding parties harassed southern Andoria for almost a year. In early 761, King Andor XII played a card Vecora didn’t expect: he rallied the various races of Andoria in a single unified army, breaking invaders’ hold on the coast. Over the next year, the Vecoran armies were pushed all the way back to Vecora itself.

Empress Delina Carandis immediately declared a cease to the hostilities, and King Andor XII has offered to open negotiations for a treaty to formalize the new peace. A summit is scheduled to be held in Andoria in a month.

Every region of Ashara is still armed and ready, however, in case war breaks out once more.

This Campaign

Day and Time

So far, the consensus seems to be on playing Saturdays, from around 2 PM to 7 PM. I work for the next couple saturdays, however, so fridays may be better for me. I’ll have saturdays off starting the week after next, though, so if that’s still best for everyone, we can stick with it.

The Party

The party for this campaign includes Ben, Wade, Alex, David, Sam, and possibly Eric.

I’ll be DMing, and Frank will be assisting with MapTool, and potentially co-DMing.

Characters and Starting Location

As most of you know, I’m encouraging character backgrounds… If you’ve got a background figured out, you can bet I’ll be looking for a way to tie it into the campaign. When creating your character’s background, be sure to consider which region your character is from, what he/she did during the war, and why he/she is in Andoria now.

The party will begin in the town of Randon’s Rest, a natural crossroads in southern Andoria. Many travelers pass through Randon’s Rest, and many different types of people have come to call it home. It is not a large town, but outside its wooden walls are a great many farms; indeed, a large portion of Andoria’s food comes from the farms of the south.

MapTool + Skype

We’ll be using MapTool to function as a tabletop battle-grid and such, as well as to facilitate virtual dice. Talking and such will, of course, be handled with Skype.